RELATED: See Offensive Bounce-Back Candidates here
Adversity is a part of life. We all experience it.
Maybe you didn't get that promotion at work you wanted and rightly deserved (that Carol is such a suck-up). Maybe you came outside this morning to find a tire on your car that was flatter than Kansas. Or you had an argument with the better half on what is the proper way to put toilet paper on the roller (The answer is "over" unless you're a psychopath). Or you were beaten up by a pack of Girl Scouts when you didn't have exact change for your Do-si-dos.
They can be fierce.
But when that adversity strikes, there's only one thing you can do—stare it in the face and tell it to get bent. Let all the air out of Carol's tires at lunch (Don't. Really.). Throw the tiny doughnut spare on the Youmobile. Learn how to put toilet paper on correctly. Give those Girl Scouts a taste of their own medicine.
Just be careful. They teach them all Krav Maga. And beating up Girl Scouts is wrong, so again—don't.
NFL players aren't immune to adversity either—more than a few suffered through a disappointing 2025 season, whether due to injury or just poor performance. The question is how those players react to that adversity. Will they shrink from it? Or will they bounce back from that down year and come back better than ever?
The IDPs in this piece are headed for Door No. 2.
Can't say no one told you.
2026 IDP Bounce-Back Candidates
EDGE Nick Bosa, San Francisco
Back in the long-ago days of 2022, Bosa led the NFL with 18.5 sacks, won Defensive Player of the Year honors, and was second among all defensive linemen in the Godfather's Default IDP Scoring. But as has been the case throughout his career, injuries continue to dog the 28-year-old—he tore his ACL three games into the 2025 season and has missed as many games as he played over the past two years.
Early reports have been positive regarding Bosa's Week 1 availability, and while he missed time two years ago, Bosa managed nine sacks and was a top-10 IDP option at his position in fantasy points per game. Bosa's early asking price is as a high-end DL2, which could make him quite the potential value for IDP managers who bang away at linebacker early.
EDGE Travon Walker, Jacksonville
Heading into the 2025 season, Jaguars edge rusher Travon Walker appeared to be on the track to stardom—in both 2023 and 2024, Walker topped 50 total tackles and logged double-digit sacks. But last year, the numbers just weren't there—the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft played in 14 games, but his numbers plummeted—just 38 total tackles and 3.5 sacks.
The Jaguars apparently still believe in Walker—they gave the 25-year-old a four-year, $110 million contract extension in the offseason. Walker's pressure numbers were solid last year, and he actually set a career high in knockdowns. Two years ago, Walker was a top-10 defensive end in fantasy points. But fantasy managers won't have to pay anything close to that to secure his services in 2026.
EDGE T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh
Watt was hardly terrible last year. He was DL13 in The Godfather's Default IDP Scoring in both overall points and points per game. And it was hardly his fault that Watt missed multiple games because a trainer accidentally punctured his lung. But Watt's seven sacks a year ago were the second-fewest of his career, and his 23 solo tackles were a career-low for the 31-year-old.
It's not a stretch to say that Watt's best football is behind him. But as recently as two years ago, he topped 60 tackles and amassed 11.5 sacks, and in 2023, he led the league with 19 sacks and was the highest-scoring defensive lineman in fantasy. There's a real chance that Watt will fall outside the top-five at his position in IDP drafts this summer—and that risk is absolutely worth taking.
LB Nakobe Dean, Las Vegas
Dean's NFL career has been quite the roller-coaster. The third-rounder from Georgia barely played as a rookie. Lost most of his second professional season to injury. Had a coming-out party with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2024, posting 128 tackles and three sacks on the way to an eighth-place finish in fantasy points per game. And then suffered through another injury-marred season in 2025.
Now, Dean will try to jump-start his career in Las Vegas—both he and Quay Walker were signed in the offseason to overhaul the Raiders' linebacker corps. Dean's durability issues are a concern, and Walker will probably wear the green-dot helmet communicator. But as a three-down linebacker for a Raiders defense that could be on the field a lot, the upside is there.
Devin White showed us all that last year.
